Two Halves of the Same
by SharonH
Summary: Batman Begins. Set several months after the movie. Bruce is approached by someone who turns out to be more like him than he realizes. Will they walk away from happiness? Or will they be able to learn together? BWOC.
1. Getting what we want

Callie Hughes sat in the back of the limousine and sighed. This would be her final meeting of the day, then she could go back to the hotel, take a bubble bath, and just relax. This weekend she would work on finding a permanent home. She sighed again, realizing this wouldn't be the easiest feat, seeing as she had such, er, special needs. 

Opening the file in front of her, she looked at the recent news article on Gotham's favorite son, Bruce Wayne. Billionaire, Philanthropist, keen businessman; there were so many adjectives in that one little article. It said so much, without saying anything at all about the man. Oh, she knew his parents had been killed when he'd been just a child, but that had been just over 21 years ago. In the last year he'd come back from the dead, alienated half of Gotham, lost his home, won back his empire, and was once more becoming beloved by his peers. He was reaching the age of 30, and seemed such a mystery. Her lovely mouth twisted into a cynical grin. Probably why he's popular fodder for the tabloids. Well, if the man wanted privacy that was fine with her, she understood that need. She didn't need him personally, she needed him professionally.

At 26, Callie was recognized as a genius in the field of genetics and microbiology. The only child in a wealthy family, she'd had the best schooling and had graduated with a double doctorate in both fields three years previously. Her parents, also geneticists, had died in a lab explosion three short months after her graduation. The same explosion had put her into a coma for a year. They had said she would be in a permanent vegetative state. The doctors still had no idea how she'd come out of it, no worse for the wear. Well, what they didn't know, she smirked slightly to herself.

So now, she was on her way to Wayne Manor, the newly rebuilt Wayne Manor, to approach Bruce Wayne on a business proposition. "Oh Daddy, how I wish it was you instead of me." she sighed. Her father had always been so deft at handling anything with the word business in it. Callie always thought of herself as a science geek, now everything dealing with Hughes Labs was her role to fill. It was amazing how people automatically think that because you have a specific last name you can, and should, do anything.

The car pulled to a stop, and Callie looked out the window at the impressive building. It was stunning. Even knowing that it had been rebuilt so recently, she felt the sense of heritage in the building. Her door opened and the driver helped her out of the vehicle. She straightened her dove gray pantsuit, grabbed her matching clutch, and strode up the stairs towards the entry. Before her hand could even touch the door, it swung slowly open to reveal an older gentleman, who appeared to be in his 60's. He wore the garb of butler, however he had an air about him that made her feel he was something much more.

"Ms. Hughes is it?" he asked in his very proper British accent.

She graced him with a small smile. "Yes, I'm Calliope Hughes. I have an appointment with Mr. Wayne at 1 o'clock."

"Certainly Madame, Mr. Wayne is expecting you. I'm Alfred. If you'll follow me." he turned and headed into the house. Callie followed him and he led her to a set of closed double doors to the right of the large foyer. He opened the door, and held it for her. "Mr. Wayne, Ms. Hughes is here for your appointment."

Callie heard a low voice respond, and Alfred gestured for her to enter the room. Pushing her shoulders back, and standing straight, Callie took a deep breath and headed into the lion's den. 


	2. Kismet

The first thought that entered Callie's mind when she saw Bruce Wayne in person was, So this is why women are crazy about him. He was tall, dark blonde hair slicked back from his face, chiseled facial features, and piercing blue eyes. He wore charcoal gray slacks, and a long sleeved white button down shirt. A blue and charcoal tie brought out his eyes. Ruggedly handsome, yes, those were good descriptive words, she thought numbly. Callie blinked and came back to herself. She moved forward to shake his hand.

As soon as she walked into the room Bruce was speechless. The woman in front of him was absolutely breathtaking. She stood just a few inches shorter than his height of 6'2', putting her at about 5'10". Long, straight, ebony hair went just a few inches past her shoulders, and a fringe of bangs were cut just above her eyebrows, drawing attention to her large gray eyes, high cheekbones, small straight nose, and lush mouth. The gray pantsuit, which just matched her eyes drew attention to her full breasts, small waist, and curving hips. He watched as she strode to him, her incredibly long legs getting her there quickly.

"Mr. Wayne, it's a pleasure to meet you." she said in her husky voice, and grasped his hand firmly. Her eyes widened slightly at the tingle that went through her as their flesh touched.

Bruce saw the startled look in her eyes, and filed that away for later consideration. "The pleasure is all mine Ms. Hughes. Please have a seat." He gestured to the chair across from his desk, and they both took their seats. "Would you like a drink?"

"Oh no, I'm fine. Thank you anyway."

He leaned back and looked at her. "So what can I help you with then Ms. Hughes?"

"Well Mr. Wayne. I'm not sure if you're aware but I represent Hughes Labs."

"Yes, as I understand it Hughes is one of the top genetics and research labs in Gotham."

A small gleam entered her eyes, "Actually, we're THE top lab for genetics and research. Currently we're working on several projects that will be of tremendous importance to the world. Which brings me to the purpose of our meeting." Callie opened the folder she'd brought in with her, and passed a sheet of paper into Bruce's hands. "The largest project that we're currently working on is a study on psychotropic drugs and their long-term effects. We're researching the effects had on offspring born to users of these drugs, and possible ways to treat and cure these problems."

Bruce steepled his fingers onto his desk, and leaned back into his chair again. It was fascinating watching the way her eyes lit up as she talked about her work.

"Which brings me to why I'm here." She took a deep breath and continued. "It came to our attention after the tragedy last year , where the psychotropic drug they're calling Blue3lotus, that the antidote, which they're calling Lotus-Killer is solely in the hands of Wayne Enterprises."

Bruce moved forward into his chair, his eyes narrowing slightly. "That's correct. One of our scientists helped formulate the antidote, so the rights to it became ours."

"Understandable, of course. Basically Mr. Wayne, Hughes Labs would like to buy the right to research Lotus-Killer to see if it would be of any help to those that still suffer from the different maladies of drug use." Callie passed over a larger packet of documents.

"I see, well, I can certainly assure you that we'll give this matter serious thought. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to give you an answer today."

Callie stood, a confident smile on her lips, "I certainly understand Mr. Wayne. Those are all of the documents for the proposal, I'm sure you'll have your attorneys review them. All of my contact information, as well as my hotel information is in there as well." Once again she shook his hand as he stood, and once again she was startled that the same tingling was there when bare flesh met.

"I'll walk you out." he said with a smile.

"Thank you."

"So you're staying in a hotel? I was under the impression you lived in Gotham." he said as he led her out the office into the foyer.

"Actually, I've been working overseas ever since the accident which took my parents lives." she said with a sad half smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." he said softly.

Soft dove eyes met electric blue. "How could you have? If I recall, you weren't here at the time. I thank you for your time Mr. Wayne. Please let me know if you need any further information, and I hope to hear from you soon."

Bruce watched the intriguing woman walk quickly away. She had an innate grace, and she slipped into the vehicle that the driver had opened for her. He didn't shut the door until the car was out of sight. 


	3. We Meet Again

It had been two weeks since the appointment with Bruce Wayne, and Callie had heard nothing. She was anxious, knowing that the response would be, had to be, a positive. However, until she got that answer, nothing could be started. She was in a foul mood, and certainly had no desire to go to the charity function which she was currently dressing for. Putting the final touches on her deep garnet colored lipstick, she gave herself one more check before grabbing her shawl and clutch, and headed downstairs to the lobby.

Callie knew she was an attractive woman, however she didn't put much stock in looks, and that added something to make her not only unique, but even lovelier. An inner confidence that not many individuals possessed shone through like a light shining in a storm. As she made her way to the man waiting for her on one of the lobby couches, she didn't notice that whomever she passed stopped dead in their tracks, unable to resist a glance at the vision she was. That evening she was wearing a red satin sheath which fell to her ankles. There were slits up both sides stopping at mid thigh, so that a tantalizing display of leg showed as she walked. The dress molded her body, a body that most women would pay thousands of dollars to possess. The top of the dress was a halter style that attached at her neck, and left the expanse of her back bare all the way down. The style made a vee over her breasts showing tanned and perfect cleavage. Her silky hair was left down, but held up by a ruby clip on one side. Rubies swung from her ears in a thin line, just brushing her shoulders. Her feet were encased in black sandals which strapped up her ankles to clasp at mid calf. She completed the look with a red shawl made of the same satin as the dress, and a small black clutch with ruby insets.

The man waiting for her stood as she approached. "You look stunning." he told her with pure male appreciation shining out of his eyes.

She graced him with a small smile, "Thank you Lawrence, shall we go." He offered her his arm and they made their way to the limousine waiting outside for them. Callie knew that she probably shouldn't have let Lawrence act as her escort for this benefit, but she'd been unable to come up with a reason to decline him when he'd unexpectedly asked her. It was an extremely rare occurrence, the unexpected, she'd been so surprised that she'd agreed. However she knew that she would have to make it clear to him that this was nothing more than a one time arrangement. She had no time or inclination for anything of the romantic variety, and even if she was, it wouldn't be with Lawrence. Not that he wasn't attractive, he was in a generic pretty boy sort of way. Slightly taller than she was, light blonde hair, square jaw, lovely chocolate brown eyes, athletic build from years of tennis and racquetball, and of course he was highly intelligent, but then he'd have to be to be Vice President of Hughes Labs, and one of its most prominent scientists.

The Centurion Hotel was one of the newer and ritzier hotels in Gotham. Built in the last year after the near destruction of Gotham, the hotel had become quite popular with the city's elite. It had a five star rating, and a five star restaurant. As they entered the Silver and Gold Ballroom, Callie accepted a flute of champagne off of a passing waiter, and pasted a pleasant smile on her face.

Bruce climbed out of his low slung sports car and tossed the keys lightly to the valet. He helped the two gorgeous and lanky models out of the passenger seat, and they escorted him inside one to each side. He sighed to himself thinking that although the women were beautiful, sometimes playing this part in public got old. Alfred was right though, he needed to keep a public playboy persona if he was going to keep his dual identity safe. Also this fundraiser was one held by Wayne Enterprises, and he was Wayne Enterprises. The whole purpose behind the ball was to raise money to rebuild the destroyed railway. Make it better, keep it cheap. Give something good back to the people. One of the blondes on his arms leaned into him, and it took all of his control to keep from wincing. It had been an extremely long and painful week for Batman, and there was still more to be done. If he was honest with himself there was many years of work left to be done. 

The first person he saw upon entering the ballroom was Calliope Hughes, she was speaking quietly with a light haired man whom he'd seen at many other similar affairs. She made his mouth go dry. The second person he saw was Rachel Dawes, and that just made a tear in a slowly healing heart. Sure he understood the reasoning on why they couldn't be, but that didn't mean there wasn't pain involved. She looked beautiful, and was currently dancing with a man that Bruce recognized as a newer attorney in town. A part of him felt guilty, but his eyes were drawn back to where Calliope had been. He frowned a little to find she wasn't there. His two dates went to find the ladies room, and Bruce took a drink from a waiter, his gaze drawn once again to Rachel laughing with who he assumed was her date for the evening.

"She's quite lovely." a husky voice came from his right.

He was startled that he hadn't noticed her approach.

"Rachel Dawes, a very high profile Assistant District Attorney. You grew up together didn't you?" she asked taking a sip of her champagne.

Without looking away from Rachel he responded, "We did." With one last look at his childhood love he turned to face the woman next to him. "It's a pleasure to see you again Ms. Hughes."

She acknowledged him with a slight nod. "Indeed."

"My apologies that we haven't been able to get back to you regarding your proposal…" he began, but stopped when she held up her hand.

"Please, Mr. Wayne, tonight is certainly not an evening to discuss that kind of business." he watched her as she took in her surroundings. "I mean after all, here we are surrounded by the beautiful people, and for an excellent cause." she took another sip, and met his eyes. "As I understand it, this is being held by Wayne Enterprises. With such a big event, I hardly see where you would have possibly had the time to put towards anything else. I'm sure you'll have plenty of time, and I'm sure that with your excellent advisors you'll reach an intelligent conclusion. Isn't that right Mr. Fox?"

Lucius Fox, Bruce's director of Wayne Enterprises, had approached and leaned in to kiss Callie on the cheek. "I certainly know by now to never disagree with a beautiful woman. How have you been Calliope?"

"I can honestly say that I'm pleased to be back home, and not pleased with the task of finding a permanent residence." she hadn't completed her sentence when Lawrence joined them; putting his hand on the small of her bare back. Bruce watched a slight frown flutter briefly over her face. In fact, if he hadn't been watching so closely, he probably wouldn't have even noticed it.

"Lawrence James, Mr. Wayne. It's an honor to meet you." he said shaking Bruce's hand. "Calliope, shouldn't we dance?"

A small appeared on her face, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Of course. If you gentlemen will excuse us."

Bruce and Lucius watched the couple move to the floor, and Lawrence James pulled her close to him. "Boyfriend?" Bruce asked in a husky voice.

"No, look at the way she pulls back, leaving space between their two bodies. Besides Lawrence James wouldn't be able to handle that little girl. She's been a spitfire since she was a toddler. I knew her parents almost as long as I knew yours."

"You saw the proposal she gave me."

"I did. I must say, it's intriguing material, and really not much risk for Wayne Enterprises. But if that little girl's theories are valid, there would be a lot for Wayne Enterprises to gain, as well as a lot for the people of the world to gain."

"I see." he watched as the man said something close to Calliope's ear, she shook her head and sighed, looking slightly exasperated.

"Interested?" Fox asked.

"It read as a sound deal." Bruce answered.

"I wasn't talking of the proposal." The older man said with an amused tone.

Bruce just looked at the other man, his expression never changing. 


	4. Gifts

The song ended and Callie pulled away from Lawrence. "I'd better go make my donation." she said lightly as he gave her a disappointed look. Glancing surreptitiously at Bruce Wayne, she noticed that his dates had decided to rejoin him, and were attached to him like static cling. She almost snorted at the shocked glances most of the socially elite of Gotham were passing their way. She made her way to the gentlemen who were collecting the donations that were being pressed upon them. Opening her clutch, she passed them a check that she'd made out previous to coming to the ball.

"Receipt Madame?" The balding man asked.

"Please."

He opened his receipt book and started writing, only stopping to look at the check when he got to the amount. His eyes widened and he started coughing a bit. "Why th-thank you Miss." he said hurriedly scribbling the rest of the receipt and passing it to her. She tucked it back into the clutch, and headed back towards her escort for the evening. She'd decided she would plead a headache, and since she'd already made her appearance, good publicity for the company, and she'd made her donation-- there wasn't much anyone could say.

"Care to dance?" came the deep raspy voice. She barely had time to think before Bruce had managed to lead them onto the floor.

It seemed like they fit together perfectly, her curved and luscious frame fitted into his muscled and powerfully built body. His body heat, and scent was playing havoc with her breathing, and her heartbeat had sped up. "Tell me Mr. Wayne, do you dance with everyone at these little soirées?"

"Well when it is one's company throwing the shindig, it's good for donations."

"Ah, but I'd already made my donation."

He pulled her slightly closer to his body, and she didn't stop him. "I saw. It looked like you were giving Mr. Thomas palpitations, which I can only assume means you were quite generous."

She shrugged and blushed slightly. "It's an extremely good cause."

"We agree on that then." he said looking into her thunderstorm eyes.

"You're a very hard man to read Bruce Wayne." she said softly, "I'm normally quite good at reading people."

"I get told that all the time."

"So where were you all those years you were gone?"

"Overseas mostly. Trying to find myself." he said seriously.

"And did you?"

"In a way, I suppose yes."

Realizing that she needed to dispel the intimate tone that their conversation had taken, she grinned slyly. "And is overseas where you found the wonder twins?" she motioned over her shoulder at his dates who were currently giggling and drinking champagne.

He had the grace to flush. "They came buy one get one free." he said with a straight face.

Callie laughed delightedly. The song came to an end, and they headed off the floor. Halfway there, Rachel stepped in front of them. "Bruce, I was hoping I could speak with you for a few moments." she said looking quickly at the woman he'd held in his arms so recently.

"Of course Rachel." he looked down at Calliope.

"I will leave you to it then." she said smiling at them both. "Thank you for the dance Mr. Wayne. Ms. Dawes." Callie turned and walked away, finding her way to Lawrence.

Bruce led Rachel to a quiet corner, and turned to her expectantly.

"I didn't know you knew Calliope Hughes." she said looking at him closely.

Bruce shrugged, "We had a business meeting recently, and she obviously showed up tonight due to the fact she is wealthy and travels in these circles."

"Oh, How have you been?" she whispered.

"I'm fine Rachel. How are you?"

"Good," she answered. "The city is starting to show a definite improvement in our Justice system."

"I'm glad. Now what did you really want to talk about Rachel?"

She sighed and met his eyes. "I've started seeing someone."

"I would assume you're talking about the gentleman who was keeping you so close to him earlier?" he said gently.

"Yes, William." she said searching his face.

"If you're happy, then I'm happy for you Rachel." he took one of her hands in his. "You deserve the best. And we both know that at this point, I can't give you what's best for you."

"Yeah."

"Be happy, Rachel." he said and started to walk away.

"Are you seeing the Hughes girl?"

"No." he answered without looking at her. "Why?"

"When you were dancing. It looked like more than a requisite dance. You looked like you were the only two in the room."

Bruce made his way over to Fox. "Let's do it. Let's sign the documents and support Calliope Hughes' project. I'll go tell her."

"Unfortunately that won't be possible Bruce."

"Why not? I thought you said it was a worthwhile project?"

"Oh, it definitely is. But Calliope left about ten minutes ago, leaving a very disgruntled Mr. James behind." Lucius told him, gesturing across the room.

Lawrence James was drinking something much harder than champagne now, and had a grimace on his face. Suddenly a scream echoed through the room, and people rushed to the sound. Bruce and Fox made their way out the ballroom, and over to the front doors entering the hotel. A burly man lay on the concrete outside, his hands cuffed behind him, and a large bruise forming across his face.

A note fluttered to the ground at Bruce's feet. He picked it up, and hotel security and Lieutenant Gordon raced over to check on the unconscious man. It read, 'He came for Bruce Wayne. Let it be known, Batman isn't the only person who can deliver justice." 


	5. Joint Ventures

This time when they met it was in Bruce's office at Wayne Enterprises. His secretary had called and set up the appointment with Calliope's people that very morning, and she would be arriving within the next hour. Bruce's thoughts kept returning to the Silver and Gold ball the previous evening. They kept flitting between the attraction between himself and the scientist, how it had felt dancing with her, Rachel's words, and the man cuffed in front of the hotel.

They had questioned everyone in sight, and no one had seen anything. Yet, he had been there to kill Bruce. Obviously someone wasn't happy with Bruce's plans to improve the city. Part of the mystery though was the fact that the man had been an assassin wanted for several high profile killings. The man was infamous, and Bruce was wondering at the skills someone would have to have in order to take the man down. Norman Greco, the assassin, was a large man. He stood at 6'4", 250lbs, and was built like a Mack truck, but someone dropped him, and so far Greco wasn't talking.

Bruce's attention was pulled back to the present as Lucius entered the room. The older man had a smile on his face. In his hands he carried several documents and a silver tube which looked similar to a thermos, but Bruce knew it contained samples of Lotus-Killer. It had been Lucius's discovery after all.

"You're in a good mood." Bruce said with a raise of his eyebrow.

"I see you're still brooding." Lucius teased the man in front of him. "And why wouldn't I be in a good mood. We're meeting with a gorgeous woman, and starting a fascinating project. But I guess you're more worried about whoever's out there delivering bad guys. Especially since it's not Batman." he told Bruce with a knowing look.

"It's just odd." Bruce mused. "Not that Batman wouldn't appreciate the help if it's legitimate, but it's just odd." Bruce's intercom came to life with his secretary announcing the arrival of Ms. Hughes and guests. Bruce and Lucius left the office to meet the small group, and led them into the conference room.

Callie followed the two men into the conference room, where Wayne Enterprises attorney was already seated, and took a seat to Bruce's left. Today she'd chosen to wear an ivory suit; the skirt hitting two inches above her knees. Pearls gleamed on her neck. They were the same set that her father had given her mother on their wedding day. Callie's hair was pulled into a chignon at the back of her neck. Lawrence sat next to Lucius on the other side of the table, and Alex Hughes, her attorney and cousin, sat to Callie's left. She folded her hands in front of her and waited for the answer she knew she'd get.

Lucius Fox began. "We're glad you could join us today Calliope." he started with a smile. "Mr. Wayne, the board of directors, and I would like to take this opportunity to say that we think your proposals are both intelligent and intriguing." Callie inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement of the compliment. "We at Wayne Enterprises want to take you up on the offer, and we're ready to sign on the dotted line."

She graced the men with a stunning smile. "That's excellent. We're pleased that we'll be doing business with you."

"There are a few slight modifications that we've made to the contract. So perhaps you'd like to look that over first?" Bruce's raspy voice added. He could tell that the fact they made some revisions didn't surprise her. The attorney at the end of the table handed several documents to Alex who read over them briefly. He leaned and whispered something in Callie's ear, and she nodded. She took the documents from him and read through them herself.

"I don't find any problem with these alterations." she looked up with a slight frown when Lawrence James cleared his throat. She handed over the documents to the man, and threw Bruce a look that said 'whatever'. He hid a small grin seeing the unhappy look on the other man's face.

"It says here that you want the authority to check up on the project at any time within reason. Why?" Lawrence asked bluntly, and almost rudely.

Callie sat up a little straighter as anger flared. "Well, Lawrence," she began before Bruce could. "I would assume that Mr. Wayne and his staff would like to keep apprised of the research. I'm sure they'd also like to make sure that there aren't any experiments that might stray from the path that we've set up for this drug."

"I don't like the power this gives to their company." he shot back.

"You forget your place Mr. James. Mr. Wayne and Mr. Fox are doing us the favor of letting us research their drug. We will certainly agree to giving them peace of mind." her tone had become icy, and the other man backed down quickly. He passed the paperwork back over to Callie who signed quickly. Alex Hughes signed next, and the papers were passed back to Bruce. He looked at Callie with admiration, and signed.

Once all the signatures were in place, they made to leave the office. Bruce made sure to walk next to Calliope. "I'm looking forward to our companies working together."

"As am I." she told him smiling. "Anytime you would like to come and look around, please feel free. You don't even have to call first."

They had stopped and were facing each other. Callie extended her hand and again felt the flare of electricity between them. "Why don't we go out to dinner tonight?" he asked, his extraordinary eyes hooded. "To celebrate this joint venture."

Callie's eyes darkened, and she nodded. "What a smashing idea. What time?"

"I'll pick you up at your hotel at eight?" he still had her hand, and his thumb was softly brushing the back of hers.

"Eight it is." she took her hand back from his larger one. She turned and joined the others leaving Wayne Enterprises. 


	6. Losses and Gains

Callie got into the limousine upon leaving Wayne Enterprises, and leaned back into the seat with a satisfied grin on her face. Lawrence sat across from her with a stern frown on his face. "What's the problem Lawrence?"

"Besides the point you made a fool of me in there, or the fact I didn't agree with you just signing off and giving them all the power that you gave them?" he said, modulated anger alive in his voice.

"Lawrence, everything about this deal is a benefit to Hughes Labs, and if Mr. Wayne wants to check up on the project on occasion, well, let him. I have no plans on going beyond the boundaries we've set down, so I'm not worried about anything."

"If we have the samples in our possession we should be able to do with it what we wish." he said, ambition oozing from his tone.

"No, Lawrence, there are laws in place for a reason. Hughes Labs follows those laws and rules. And we always will. If you aren't happy with that, then perhaps you're with the wrong company." she told him lightly. "Driver, drop Mr. James off at Hughes Labs, I need to go shopping."

"What for?" he asked, still not satisfied.

"Well, not that it's your business Lawrence, but Mr. Wayne and I are going out to celebrate this evening."

"What!" he hissed leaning towards her. "I forbid this! The whole reason you won't date me is because we work together, but you can go out with Wayne?"

The iciness came back into Callie's voice, and her eyes darkened in anger. "First off Mr. James, Mr. Wayne and I are going out to celebrate a very lucrative joint venture between our two companies. Secondly, if you'll recall I said that dating each other would be tricky since we worked together, but I also told you I wasn't interested in that type of relationship with you. I'm sorry if you were expecting something more, but I've been honest with you from the start."

He leaned forward grabbing her wrist in a crushing grip. "You'll be sorry for this."

"I suggest you let go of my wrist." she said softly. "I also suggest that you put in notice of resignation. I don't believe that Hughes Labs is the place for you to be at the moment. I'll be taking over full operation, effective immediately." The limousine had pulled up next to his vehicle. He gave her one more glare, and got out of the car angrily.

Callie looked at her wrist and could already see a bruise in the shape of fingers appearing. She sighed trying to think of what jewelry she had that could possibly be big enough to hide that. Shopping it is, she thought with a wry grin.

Callie came back from her shopping expedition quite pleased with her purchases. She'd found the dress for the evening almost immediately. It was a pale blue, strapless sheath that fell to mid thigh. Small matching satin buttons ran along the back from top to bottom. Sheer hose, matching pale blue sandals with a three inch heel, and satin clutch were purchased next. Lastly, to complete the ensemble, she purchased a thick, platinum cuff bracelet. It was encrusted with diamonds and pale blue sapphires, and she bought the choker to match. Callie pulled her hair up into a French twist, leaving only a few tendrils escaping. She had just finished putting on lip gloss when the bell to the hotel room sounded. Grabbing her clutch, she went and opened the door to a very handsome Bruce Wayne.

"Mr. Wayne, right on time." she said exiting the room and letting the door shut behind her. He offered her his arm, and they walked to the glass elevator together.

Bruce was wearing a three piece suit made of a deep blue fabric. Freshly shaved, with just a hint of expensive but incredibly sensual cologne. His shirt was a lighter blue, and he wore an expensive Armani tie in various shades of blue. "You look lovely."

"Why thank you. Just what every girl should hear once in a while. I would say the same for you, but you aren't really lovely are you? More… striking." she said, tilting her head slightly. "So tell me Mr. Wayne, where are we going this evening?"

"I think you should probably call me Bruce." he told her, "And I thought we'd go to Vincencia's."

"Then you should call me Callie. Vincencia's…Very nice. I understand it's quite difficult to get a table there on short notice, Bruce." she said adding a slight emphasis on his name.

"I guess I just know the right people." he said with a grin.

She laughed, and he led her to the car.

Dinner seemed to go well with Callie sharing some of her experiences in Europe, and Bruce telling her of his plans to rebuild the transit system. She noticed that he didn't go into his personal life, or the past, and he noticed that she avoided quite a few topics as well.

"So what made you come back to Gotham?" he asked casually as they finished their after dinner drinks.

Callie fidgeted slightly before answering. "It was time for me to come back. Time to take over the family business. After the explosion, well, really when I woke up. I couldn't quite deal with it. Never really knowing what had happened, or what had caused it. So I went to the Rome, Paris, and London offices. I got good experience, and decided that it was time. It's what my parents would have wanted."

"Well, I'm sure that will brighten up Mr. James world quite a bit." he said with a bit of sarcasm.

"Actually, Lawrence won't be staying with Hughes. He's decided his gifts are required elsewhere." As she said this she moved her hair back, and the cuff slid slightly revealing the bruise. Most people wouldn't have noticed, but Bruce Wayne wasn't most people. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Besides Lawrence wanted more from me than what I could, or would offer."

"I was under the impression there was something between you." he smiled lazily.

"No." she said with a bit of finality. "I don't date very much. There really isn't time for it in my life."

"Oh, I date all the time."

She found herself laughing for the hundredth time that evening. "You are a funny man Bruce Wayne. But I think it's time for me to be going home and going to bed. I have a big day tomorrow. And I have two companies to answer to now."

They drove the short distance to the hotel, Callie relaxing in the seat next to Bruce the entire time. That shocked her slightly, but it felt nice. Relaxing with someone was a rare gift. He escorted her to her door, and once there took her hand in his.

"I had a good time tonight Ms. Hughes." he said, his gravelly voice rumbling through his chest.

"As did I Mr. Wayne."

He kissed her hand, and waited for her to open the door. As soon as she entered the room he strode down the hall. A man with a purpose. Obviously there was a gentleman in Gotham that needed to realize that women weren't out there to be mishandled. And Bruce Wayne knew exactly how to get his point across.

Callie shut her door, and leaned against it. She sighed knowing that her night wasn't quite over. She had a little nighttime visit to make. Someone needed to realize that not all women could be mistreated. 


	7. Meeting the Man

She moved like a ghost across the roof tops of Gotham; unseen by the unsuspecting citizens down on the streets. She reveled in the freedom she had in these few moments. There were no expectations, no limits to what she had to do, or could do. No one knew she existed. Her lithe, leather clad figure came to a stop when she spotted the Condominium complex where her prey was located. Deep brown leather, just this side of black, reinforced with special Kevlar molded to her body like a glove. Boots and gloves of the same color, the boots reaching to just above her knees, had special traction on the bottom and palms to prevent her from slipping. One other 'special' ability of the boots was that if she slanted her feet slightly she could slide as if on ice. It had taken practice to get used to them, but now they were a dream. They had no heel on them, and were so supple sometimes it felt like she was running barefoot.

Her head and face was covered by a special mesh mask which was golden brown in color, and glowed with Celtic runes. It almost completely covered her face and hair, leaving only her mouth visible. Under the mesh a person could only faintly make out facial features where her nose and eyes would be, but she could see out perfectly. To complete the outfit she was equipped with a utility belt with special gadgets on it, special pockets located along the leather outfit, and a deep-brown hooded cloak made of special material in case she needed to glide from a high distance. That was the only part she didn't like so much. The falling part. Short distance, hey, no problem. Long drops gave her the willies.

She came to the edge of a building, and somersaulted over to a shorter one next to it. Crouching, she saw that the lights were off in his condo, but there was movement inside. All of her senses had become fine tuned, and the special mesh helped even more. She made the small jump, and landed lightly on the balcony to his home. Closing her eyes, she sent out her senses, and could tell that he was in fact not home. Ah, but the empty void inside told her that someone was. That same someone had entered through the balcony which she now stood on. She slipped in through the partially opened door, and wasn't surprised when he froze where he stood.

"My, my." She said in a whispery velvet voice, "I've heard of a cat burglar, but a bat burglar?"

"Who are you?" he asked in a harsh, raspy voice.

"There are many things that I could be called." She answered, and they circled each other very slowly. "Normally, friend, but in Lawrence James' case it shall be teacher." She stopped moving and looked at him. My, he was a figure of a man wasn't he? She found she had the urge to touch those lips to hers. Whoa there, settle down girl. "And what does Batman want with Lawrence James?"

"You're the one who took out Greco." He stated without answering her question.

"Correct. Can't have people gunning down well known philanthropists now, can we?"

"I'm sure Mr. Wayne was grateful."

"And what about Batman?" she asked in that soft voice.

"He hasn't made up his mind if this is a good thing or not." He told her. He had begun moving slightly closer again. "What do you want with James?"

"What do I want with James?" she considered her response carefully. "It has come to our attention that Mr. James enjoys hurting women. We do not think that this should go unanswered."

"Calliope Hughes?"

"One among several others. Our Mr. James has quite a history of violent encounters." She sat on the couch behind her suddenly, spreading out her cloak, and crossing her legs.

It startled him slightly, but he stayed alert. Odd, he'd had Gordon do a background check, but hadn't found anything other than one report from one ex girlfriend that had been dropped. "Where'd you get your information? There aren't any police reports."

"Nothing reported except for the one that was dropped, yes I know." She said studying her glove, while swinging her leg slightly.

She looked the picture of ease, but somehow he knew she was just as alert as he was. There was a love seat across from her, and he sat down carefully while keeping watch on the enigma in front of him. He knew she was female because of her voice, and her body, but no flesh was exposed. "Then how do you know it's a habit of his?"

She stilled and leaned forward slightly. "Because I read it in his mind."

"You read it in his mind?" he asked shocked. "And people think I'm crazy."

"Now, now, no name calling. I can't read everything, or everyone. Take yourself for example. You're a complete void to me which means you have excellent shields, and you're in complete control of your body and mind. Mr. James, while having some blank spots that I can't read, can't control his anger, therefore it makes it easier to pick up. I think it's those primal urges."

"And you've seen him hurting women?"

"Oh yes. The ex who dropped charges, the girl he took advantage of, then threatened; she was too scared to even contact the police. One girl's broken nose, another's broken wrist. A brilliant man with one of the largest flaws. Proof that all men are fallible. He only bruised Calliope Hughes, but earlier this evening, when I felt him, when I saw his thoughts so clear while I was so far away. The violence he felt towards her was frightening. So I am here to teach Mr. James."

"By killing him?" he asked.

"Oh no, Batman. I'm no killer. Not unless it was a situation of survival. I believe in justice. If there was a way to make the women he's changed come forward, then that's the method I would use. However, seeing as that won't happen, fear shall be the professor for these lessons."

"What made you come to Gotham?"

"Perhaps we can save that question for another time?" She stood and edged back into the corner of the room. He could barely make her out in the shadows. "It seems Mr. James will be arriving in the next few moments."


	8. Enigmas

Batman stood and found a shadow of his own to blend in with. He'd watch this exchange; if he didn't like the direction it was taking he'd correct it.

Lawrence James entered the apartment muttering. "Stupid bitch, thinks she can force me out of the fucking company I've been running. Thinks she can do it alone. She'll see, then she'll come running back to Larry."

Batman could smell the alcohol wafting off the man stumbling around. "Yeah, then she'll be giving me what I want. The only thing women are good for." The woman chose that moment to step out of hiding.

"Now, now Mr.James, that kind of talk is what earned you a visit from me." her voice whispered along Batman's nerve endings. There was something different in her voice, something extra, something he couldn't put a name to, but he could see it caused fear in James. "You've been a bad boy Lawrence."

"Wh-who are you?" he whined.

"You may call me The Seer. I see everything you know. I've seen what you think, what you've done." she circled around the frightened man, using her mind to instill terror. "I'm the whisper in the back of your mind that tells you you'll get caught. I've seen what you did to Shelly Carpenter, Renee Binton, Debra Windles, there are even more, shall I go on?"

"No." he whispered. "you're lying!"

"I saw what you intend to do to Calliope Hughes Mr. James. Tsk tsk. Civilized people don't imagine carving up pretty girls with a box cutter, do they Mr. James."

At her words a high pitched sound came out of James throat. "How did you know…"

"I told you I SEE ALL." she stepped closer to him; her voice raising. Like a wild animal, the abundance of fear was starting to enrage him. "Ahhh, you're getting angry. You want to hit me, don't you Lawrence, hurt me? How dare a woman speak to you like this? Just shut the woman up, so she can't say anything else." As the thoughts flowed into his head, she gave voice to them. Suddenly, he jumped at her, swinging, she moved just in time, and he missed. He fell to the ground at her feet. That's when he noticed Batman in the corner. His eyes widened even more. "Yes, I see you've seen I'm not your only visitor this evening Lawrence. You've been a bad boy to get two such fearsome creatures tapping on your window." She crouched in front of his cowering body.

Lawrence scrambled away from the two. Batman didn't move from his spot. "Don't let her hurt me." he whimpered looking at the imposing figure.

"She hasn't touched you yet." he told the man tonelessly.

"I'm going to be watching you Lawrence James. The next time I see your poisoned thoughts drifting on the wind into my view, I'll return, and won't be quite as pleasant. Do you understand?" She said, lifting his chin to her with one gloved finger.

He looked up into the golden face with glowing symbols. She brought her face very close to his and whispered one word. "Sleep." She barely had to concentrate before he fell into a deep sleep.

"What did you do to him?" Batman asked harshly moving towards them.

The Seer stepped back towards the door to the balcony, as Batman bent to check on the sleeping man. "I sent him to his dreams. A place where we should all be right now. Dreams that will show him what could happen if he doesn't change his ways. I told you I wouldn't harm him, and he is unharmed. You'll find I keep my word." When he looked back she was gone.

Batman left shortly after.

Bruce was doing his morning regimen of push ups when Alfred entered with his protein shake. They hadn't spoken much when Bruce had returned from his evening 'constitutional', but Alfred could tell that he was brooding about something.

"Last night I met the person who took out Greco." Bruce said abruptly.

"Really, sir? Did you get into fisticuffs with the gentleman?" he asked slightly intrigued.

"No. I generally try not to hit women, although I'm sure there's an exception out there."

"A woman sir?"

Bruce stood up, drinking the shake. "Yes, a woman. She was there to deal with Lawrence James. Said he had a long history of abusing women, he didn't exactly deny it. Also said he was planning on doing something pretty bad to Calliope." Bruce's eyes narrowed at the memory.

"That's horrible, Master Bruce. Such a lovely girl." Alfred said, deeply offended by the thought.

"Don't worry Alfred, nothing will happen to Calliope. Even if this 'Seer' isn't able to stop it, I will."

"Very good sir." Alfred said with a knowing smile. "She calls herself Seer?"

"The Seer." Bruce went on to describe the woman's costume, and the effects she seemed to be able to accomplish with James. "She must have some type of drug that causes mind control, or something?"

"But then, how did she know all of the information regarding Mr. James extracurricular activities?" Alfred asked.

"I don't know. And she never once tried to use any of it on me. I have a feeling I'll be running into her again. As for Calliope, I think I'm going by Hughes Labs today to check up on things, and make sure Lawrence is on his way out."

Callie looked at the numbers in front of her on her way to Lab 3. She wore her customary work attire of slacks, today they were black, and a short sleeved butter cream-yellow blouse. Black loafers adorned her feet, and she wore a white lab coat to protect her clothing. She'd pulled her hair into a loose ponytail to keep it out of her face, and protective goggles hung around her neck. This morning when she'd woken up she'd noticed how the bruise on her wrist had blossomed into color in deep blues and purples. Callie had been slightly surprised not realizing how hard he'd actually grabbed her the day before. She opened the door to Lab 3 and entered. These days she spent half the day doing administrative work, but she still tried to get into the labs and play as much as she could. Callie was a science nerd. Mixing, experimenting; that's where her passions lay. She did the paperwork, and attended the meetings that came with owning the company, but she'd rather play with chemicals, humane genes, and run tests any day.

She had just prepared a sample of Lotus-Killer to put into the analyzer when the intercom to her right came to life. "Ms. Hughes." The security guards voice squawked. She sighed setting down the sample, and pushing the talk button.

"Yes?" she asked with infinite patience.

"There's a Mr. Wayne here to see you." The disembodied voice answered back.

"I'll be right there." Callie put the sample in an airtight casing so as not to destroy or contaminate it. She then headed for the front of the complex. She'd left explicit instructions that Bruce Wayne could be admitted at any time he chose. Sighing with annoyance, and some excitement which she chose to ignore, she wondered why they had disregarded those instructions.

Hughes Labs was located in a large building her parents had originally built, and was then rebuilt after the explosion. It was a four story complex made up of mostly scientific laboratories. There were administrative offices on each floor, as well as training areas, and conference rooms. The areas that Callie thought of as her own were on the first level, and that was where she'd be researching Lotus-Killer.

Callie rounded the corner to find herself face to face with Bruce. He was standing to the side of the security desk with his hands in his pockets. He was dressed in black slacks, and a cream colored button down shirt. She almost smiled at the fact their outfits were so matched. He was smiling at something the security guard was saying to him.

The security guard, Bill, was telling Bruce how happy he was that the high and mighty Mr. James wouldn't be with the company anymore. Bruce couldn't help but smile at the tone of the man's voice, which was old and leathery with something a little southern mixed in. He looked up to see Callie turn the corner, and felt his heart speed up.

She gave him a bright smile, and looked at Bill. "Bill, I told you Mr. Wayne could have access to the building?"

"I did Ms. Calliope…" the man begun.

Bruce stepped in smoothly, "He did, but I thought that since this was my first visit, maybe you'd have the time to escort me? If not I could make an appointment." He threw a wink at the old security guard.

"No, that's fine, I have plenty of time. I just didn't want you to think that I wasn't going along with the terms of our contract." She told him, noting the camaraderie already brewing between the two men.


	9. Prices Paid

Callie took Bruce on a tour of the building from the top to the ground. She left the bottom floor for the last since it was her domain. They ended in Lab 3. "This is where I'll be starting the research on Lotus-Killer."

"Interesting." he said looking around. His cell phone ringing, and he turned to take the call. After speaking quietly for several minutes he turned back to face her. "I'm afraid I have to be going. Thank you for the lovely tour." he told her as she escorted him out.

"Feel free to check up on the research at any time." she told him, and he left quickly. Interesting, she thought. Mr. Wayne is quite intriguing, but too intriguing. No time for that Callie my girl, no time at all.

Callie left work early that evening. She had a dinner date and didn't want to be late. That would not work into her plans at all. She met her date at the Centurion Hotel restaurant. His name was Nico Kramer, and she hoped he'd end up leading her to information she desperately wanted. Her mother had always told her to use all of her advantages to get a head. As she and Nico, an attractive man in his mid thirties were being seated she caught sight of Bruce seated at a table with several individuals including one of his dates from the ball, and Rachel Dawes. She acknowledged him with a nod, and he seemed surprised to see her there. She chuckled to herself. Probably knew of Mr. Kramer's reputation. Sorry Bruce, you're a nice guy, but I have business to take care of. Nico Kramer had been rumored to be affiliated with organized crime in Gotham. She was sure he was, but charges had never been brought.

They were seated and Nico looked at her with appreciation. "You look exceptionally beautiful tonight Calliope."

Callie gave him a gracious smile. She'd worn the dress hoping to keep the man distracted. It cut in a low vee and was the shade of crushed grapes. It fell to her calves, and had a slit up the middle to her mid thigh. "Thank you Nico." she told him breathlessly.

He ordered for her, which irritated her to no end, but she hid it well. Obviously the man was old fashioned and thought the little women couldn't think for themselves. She caught herself realizing she was picking up on his thought patterns. "I'm so glad I could persuade you to join me this evening. It seems since you've come back to town you've been so busy." he smiled charmingly as they ate their meal.

"Yes, I have been busy unfortunately. But I'm glad we were able to get together tonight. I don't date much since my parents died." she said sadly. And with that statement his mind opened and hers flooded with information. Not everything she needed, but enough to give her another path to follow. Slight guilt throbbed through him, and lust. He wanted Callie, wanted her badly. So many emotions poured through him and her head started to pound.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern tinging his voice.

"Hmm, I just have a bit of a headache, but I didn't want it to bother our date tonight." she told him, lying slightly.

"Oh please, I have a quick call to make and then I will take you straight home." he told her. He got up and headed to the lavatory. She rested her head in her hand for a moment wincing at the pain. Sometimes this happened. She read too much, or intercepted too much, and it attacked her mind.

"Ms. Hughes." the voice came from her right. She looked up to find Bruce staring at her.

"Mr. Wayne, and how are you this evening?"

"Very well thanks. I was slightly shocked to see you here with Mr. Kramer. I didn't realize you knew each other."

"Oh yes," she told him politely. "Mr. Kramer and I were introduced at a Country Club function recently. He's been after me for quite some time to go out to dinner. Unfortunately I've been just terribly busy."

"You should be careful Calliope. Nico Kramer is a dangerous man." his voice held an edge.

"I can certainly take care of myself Mr. Wayne, though I do appreciate your concern. Right now though, I believe your date is getting impatient." she said softly.

"Of course, please forgive me. Certainly none of my business." he said his voice taking on a remote tone. He walked back over to his date who was looking fairly bored, but brightened considerably when he returned.

"What did Wayne want?" Nico asked angrily when he returned.

"Oh, he was just saying hello. We do business together. It was one of those polite required things you know." she told him.

"Hmmm, the man is crazy if he just wanted to say hello out of politeness. But I guess what you can about a man who disappears for years on end, is considered dead, and just turns back up like nothing happened." Nico shook his head. "He's a strange man." Nico helped her to her feet, and took her home for the evening.

Rachel Dawes was walking back to her parked car. After dinner, she'd returned to her office to get several files, and now she was exhausted and wanted to go home. A figure moved out of the shadows toward her and she gasped in fright.

"Fear not, I won't harm you." the woman told her.

"Who are you? What do you want?" She asked the masked person in front of her.

"I am The Seer. I see all, and try to help. You've been working on the arson strikes in the city."

"Ye-es, how did you know?"

The woman laughed softly. "I told you, I see. You're going in the wrong direction." she whispered. "The fires didn't start two years ago with the first hotel fire. It started three years ago with Hughes Labs. The explosion in the labs that killed several people and injured others. That fire was the start. The beginning of an illness. That fire is where you need to start Ms. Dawes."

"They investigated that. It was an accident." Rachel told the person.

"Remember who investigated Ms. Dawes. Do what you want with this information, but if you go back, you will find your culprit." the figure stepped back into the shadows and disappeared.

Callie made it back to her hotel and changed quickly. The pain in her head was stabbing. Once in her robe she went to the doors of her balcony and opened them trying to help her headache with fresh air. She'd done too much. She still didn't know all of her limitations. She heard a noise and looked to the doors. Batman stood staring at her. Callie stepped back in fear. Did he know?

"I'm not here to harm you." he whispered in that voice.

"Really?" she said faintly. "Then why are you here?"

"You've been messing with some dangerous people Ms. Hughes. Lawrence James, Nico Kramer. That along with your new business transaction with Bruce Wayne might attract the attention of individuals you don't want to come knocking on your door."

"So you came to warn me?" she said in a faintly unbelieving tone.

"Lawrence James is missing." he told her, and saw that this startled her. "Not to be found. His last thoughts were destructive to your person. You need to be more careful."

Callie walked forward towards the man, "Well Mr. Batman…" she began but didn't get to finish as the stabbing in her head hit. She made a gargled sound and dropped to her knees, blood running out of her nose and ears. The last thing she saw before the white light covered everything was Batman leaning towards her. 


	10. Opening Eyes

Callie woke up in the hospital. She knew by the barren whiteness surrounding her. After she'd awoken from her coma two years before she'd gotten to know that lack of color well. She looked over and was faintly startled to see Alfred sitting in a chair reading a book.

"Why, Alfred, What a pleasant surprise this is." she smiled slightly. He did seem like such a nice old man.

"Well, we're certainly glad you're awake Ms. Hughes." he told her. She loved that british accent.

"Callie, Alfred, call me Callie. How long have I been here?" she sat up a bit, ignoring the dizzy sensation that it caused.

"You've been in hospital for two days Ms. Callie." he said softly. She didn't seem surprised by this.

Looking around the room now, not just at the ceiling, she saw that her room was filled with flowers of all different types and hues. "How lovely." she said faintly. "And how did such a charming man as yourself come to be in my hospital room?"

He set his book aside and leaned forward slightly. "Actually, Mr. Wayne tried contacting you at your office yesterday morning, and was told you'd been brought in after collapsing. Are you feeling all right now?"

"Hmmm, bit of a headache. Doing too much lately I suppose. Too much stress." Callie looked away from the man, she really did like him, and hated to fib. "I've had several of these blackouts before. How did I get here?"

"Well, that's quite a story from what I've heard the nurses say. Two nurses seemed to be on what they called a smoke break in the back, when Batman dropped down with you in his arms. He set you at their feet, told them who you were, and that you'd fainted. You were bleeding out your lovely nose at the time, so they rushed you inside."

"My, my, I was in the famous Batman's arms and don't remember a thing." she sighed. "Doesn't that just figure? I've heard he's quite the figure."

"So you don't remember him?" Alfred asked, his eyebrows scrunching up.

Callie tried to recall once she'd gotten home from her, er, errand. Nothing. "No. I don't remember anything. I remember dinner with Nico, then home, but after that nothing." she sighed again, this time a bit sadly. "That's how it happens though, I'm afraid. Ever since that horrible accident. Ever since the coma."

:Elsewhere:

Lieutenant Gordon looked up to see Rachel Dawes in his doorway. "Ms. Dawes, how nice to see you."

Quietly she entered the room and shut the office door behind her. "Lt. Gordon, I need some help." she said quietly.

"Whatever it is, I'll certainly try my best."

She sat across from him and leaned forward. "The Hughes Lab explosion three years ago, who investigated that fire?"

Gordon leaned back and frowned slightly, "Let me look it up." he started typing on his computer. "Flass, and his partner at the time Tony Kramer."

"Tony Kramer, as in brother to Nico Kramer?" Rachel whispered, making sure to look behind her at the shut door.

"Yeah, Tony quit the force and I was partnered with Flass shortly after that." Gordon explained.

"Do you still have all of the evidence for that accident?"

Gordon accessed more information on the computer. "Yeah, you should be able to get it no problem. Why all these questions on the accident?"

Rachel was staring off into space. "Remember who investigated." she mumbled, then looked at Gordon. "It's recently come to my attention that this might not have been an accident. It might have been the start to the arson fires that have been occurring for the past two years."

"Who told you this?" Gordon asked completely shocked. "Batman?"

"No." Rachel shook her head. "She called herself The Seer."

:Hospital:

Alex Hughes entered the room to find Callie sitting on the edge of her bed dressed in the jeans and sweatshirt he'd brought her. "You know the doctor wants you to stay for the rest of today at least."

Callie turned and looked at her cousin with a smile. "I know, but I just can't stand sitting here doing nothing. If I'm going to be doing nothing, I'd rather it be at home."

"I would hardly call a hotel room home." Alex teased. "We need to work harder finding you home."

"Yeah." she sighed, seemed she'd been doing a lot of that lately. "But it won't be easy with all of the special modifications I want to make." she said looking directly at Alex. He nodded knowingly. Alex, her beloved cousin, the only person in the world who knew about her extracurricular activities. The only person she could confide in.

He approached her, "You're doing too much Cal. You know you are. Slow down."

She nodded, "I'll try Alex, but I'm getting closer. The closer I get the quicker it seems to spiral. It's difficult. Trying to clue the right people in, but staying one step ahead of them, and one step ahead of Batman."

"And Bruce Wayne?"

She turned quickly, "What about him?"

"Please, Callie, this is Alex. You could feel it in the air the day we signed the papers."

"I'll be keeping my distance from Mr. Wayne, he's a distraction I don't need." she said coolly.

"You're going to try to take care of the arsonist yourself aren't you?"

She just looked at him, her face expressionless.

"Damn it Calliope! Leave it to the police!"

She hissed, "He killed my parents and changed my life forever. What can the police or Justice system do to make up for that? Nothing." she finished bitterly.

"You know Lawrence James is missing don't you?" he snapped.

She looked startled at that, "No, when did that happen?"

"The day you were brought in. Nothing is missing from his apartment but the man himself." he said looking at her closely.

Her eyes widened, "And you think I had something to do with it?"

"Well, did you?"

"No. I told you of my discussion and Batman's involvement. Maybe he dropped Lawrence off a cliff somewhere." she snorted. She was hurt that he'd think that of her.

Alex walked to his cousin and put his arm around her, "I'm sorry Cal. Let's get you out of here, Ok?" 


	11. Velvet

Nico Kramer looked behind him but found only dark empty alley. He walked as silent as possible to the door which only opened from the inside. He knocked, three short raps, and the door swung open. An incredibly large man stared down at Nico, "He's waiting." were the only words he uttered and they were a monotone that chilled Nico. He let Nico pass, and Nico moved quickly down the hall. The office at the end of the corridor was sumptuous. Red silk cloth covered the walls, and the desk was pure rich mahogany. There was a black leather couch in the corner, and two women clad only in underwear were lying on it. They looked to have passed out, but were incredibly still. Nico found himself facing the person sitting at the desk smoking an expensive cigar.

"Sit Nico." The voice was as soft as velvet, but Nico knew that was a deception. "I understand there was a small snag in our agreement."

Nico could only nod. He didn't know what to say, and he knew if he said the wrong thing it would be the last thing he said. He noticed the large man from the door had followed him into the room.

"Billy, my play things have outlived their use." the voice chuckled as Billy picked the women put around their waists, one under each arm, and carried them from the room. "I just can't seem to stop breaking my toys. Now, where were we." The figure inhaled the sweet smoke from the cigar and blew it out. Nico was mesmerized by the smoke curling into the air above his head. "Our agreement. The arrangement that I agreed to Nico, was that Bruce Wayne would be dead now. According to the news today though, Mr. Wayne is very much alive. Can you tell me why that is Nico?"

"Greco, hmmm, Greco messed up. Somehow he walked into something bad."

"Yes, so the papers said. But not Batman. Isn't it bad enough we have to deal with that circus freak, now we get to add another name to the hat." The voice didn't change, but Nico could tell the person was extremely angry, and he shifted nervously in his chair. "Now, Nico. No worries. It would be foolish of me to kill you at this point. Not when you can still be so useful to me. So useful with the Hughes situation. So useful with Wayne. You aren't the only one who's let me down."

Nico relaxed, but only slightly. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet Nico. I want Wayne dead. I want Wayne dead before the next forty eight hours are up. Make it happen." the voice whispered with menace.

Nico left the office quickly, practically sprinting down the corridor and back out into the alley. He heard the velvety whisper of laughter following him until he was back in his car, and on his way to his warehouse. He got into the warehouse and screamed in frustration. Rage boiled over and he hurled his keys against the wall.

"Ain't no use beatin up the wall boss." the raspy voice came from the darkened corner.

"When did you get out?" Nico asked the figure angrily.

"They had nothing on me. The cops had to let me go." The man known by the name of Norman Greco came out of the dark. His swollen eye was just starting to heal, and the cut on his lip was just a scab.

"What the hell happened to you Greco? You're supposed to be the best there is?"

"I AM the best there is. I don't know what the hell hit me. One minute I'm setting up to take my shot at Wayne when he comes out, the next something dark drops in front of me. Cept it ain't Batman, not unless Batman has lots of curves."

"A woman?" Nico said turning to look at the man through narrowed eyes.

"Oh yeah, it was a woman. Told me she knew why I was there, and she couldn't let me continue with what I'd been charged to do. Then she leans in close, like she's gonna kiss me or sometin, and I get this terrible pain in my head. Then she kicks me in the head, some type of martial arts or sometin, Hits me on the back of the neck, and as I'm going under she handcuffs my wrists. The last think I hear was her say the seer, or sometin like that. Next thing I know, I wake up on the friggin street and there are cops surroundin me."

"well, you'd better do something." Nico hissed. "Your job is to kill Bruce Wayne, and now we only have forty eight hours to get it done."

"Yeah, keep yer panties on. I'll get him killed. Tomorrow. By tomorrow night, he'll be dead, and I'll be paid." The man cracked his knuckles and left the way he'd come in.

Nico dropped down onto the faded chintz couch and looked at the coffee table that was overflowing with used coffee cups, and cigarette butts. "God Damn It!" he screamed and lifting the table hurled it across the room. 


	12. Taking Lives

Bruce Wayne wandered the mansion in a fitful mood. He'd gone out as Batman earlier in the evening, but aside from a few muggings all seemed quiet. That didn't seem right to him. He'd been informed by Gordon that Norman Greco had been released since they didn't have anything on him except for the illegal weapon, which was confiscated. He hadn't bothered to tell Gordon that if Greco had one gun, it was probably he had at least ten more. Gordon knew that there just wasn't anything else he could do. The city was still run on crime even with the district attorney's office and Batman doing all they could. He sat on the couch in the study.

Bruce stared broodingly into the fire in front of him. He couldn't sleep, and his ribs hurt from a particularly nasty kick he'd received from a mugger who thought he was Jackie Chan. Even with the protective armor sometimes the hits got through. He stood up and started pacing again, his mind not wanting to be silent. Perhaps he should have stayed out later. Perhaps if he had he'd be able to sleep now. He heard a whisper of a sound and felt something in the room.

He stood abruptly looking around for the source. It was difficult but Bruce located the figure in the darkest corner of the room. "Who are you? Why are you here?" he spoke harshly.

She stepped forward lightly, only slightly startled that he'd heard, or seen her. "I come to help." she whispered. That voice, he thought, he'd wanted to hear it again. "Little boys like Bruce Wayne should be in bed at this time of night."

"I stopped going to bed at a certain time years ago."

She shrugged and moved closer to the doors at the study entrance.

"I thought little girls stopped playing dress up when they reached adulthood." he challenged.

She chuckled, "What girl doesn't want to be a little girl forever Mr. Wayne. Besides, everyone wears a mask of some sort. Even successful and extremely wealthy playboys."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Every man and woman has a persona they put out for the public. Then they have the one that they show in private. You're very good at keeping your mask attached." She seemed to tense. "Some of us have more reason than others to have more than two masks."

"A psychologist in a mask, how interesting. You related to Crane by any chance?"

"Why does Greco want you dead Mr. Wayne? Why is it so important that he take you out of the equation?"

"What do you know about Greco?" he moved towards her.

"I know that he's involved with men that aren't very nice. I know that he is going to try to kill you." As soon as she said this she flew at Bruce knocking him over the couch. Just as she did so gunfire erupted through the study door. She rolled away from Bruce quickly moving silently to the wall next to the door.

The door burst open to reveal the large silhouette of Norman Greco. Bruce could see where the bullets would have hit him in the head if he'd still been sitting on the couch. "Wayne, did I get ya?" Greco yelled.

She moved quickly slamming her booted foot into his abdomen, and the man let out an oath as he doubled over. Again she moved quickly slamming her hand down, but this time he grabbed her by the arm and threw her. She hit the ground and rolled into a crouching position.

"You stupid bitch. You ain't stopping me tonight." He started walking towards her, and Bruce tried to think of what he would do. There were no guns in here, and the man had an automatic in his hands. He moved around the edge of the couch and out of Greco's sight. The woman scuttled backwards nimbly. When Greco got into reach she launched herself and he knocked her aside. Damnit, she thought, I'm going to have to use my other talents for this one. Bruce tackled the man which surprised Greco and knocked him down. He punched Bruce in his face with one of his meaty hands and Bruce rolled out of the way. Breathing deeply, and praying it wasn't too soon, she sent her thoughts out. He started screaming and kicked at him again, taking him square in the chest. He flailed backwards. Greco was still screaming and started pulling the trigger on the weapon randomly. Bruce hit the ground just missing taking one in the arm. When the gun clicked empty Greco hurled it where she was the last time. Bruce watched in horror as blood ran out of the man's nose, and the screams continued. She sent another heavy kick into the man's face, and he flew backwards. There was a window behind him and he flew threw it and down to the ground below.

She leaned out the window breathing heavily. She backed away from the window, and Bruce took her place staring at the dead man on his immense drive. Police cars were already coming up the road having been called by Alfred who had woken up to the screams and gunfire. "Well, you certainly know how to liven up a guy's night." he said, then he looked behind him to find the woman gone.

Callie made it back into her room without being spotted. She was becoming quite good at her stealth. This had only been the second man she'd ended up killing. Truth was she didn't like killing, but in this case, if she hadn't gone Bruce would be dead. If she hadn't killed Greco he would have come back a third time to finish the job. So she and Bruce were alive, and he was dead. She was disappointed that she hadn't been able to question him to find out why Kramer wanted Wayne dead. She highly doubted it was because Bruce got all the girls. She'd have to pay a visit to Kramer when she felt more up to it. Like when she hadn't just gotten out of the hospital. 


	13. Working Together

Callie moved through the city streets quietly and quickly. The past few days had been extremely quiet. No murmur from Kramer, and Lawrence James still hadn't been located. The furor over the attack on Bruce Wayne had become nearly silent as well. In her role as business partner she'd extended her sympathies and she'd also forwarded her preliminary reports regarding the Lotus-Killer research. It was only in the beginning stages, so there hadn't been much to report, but she liked to stay on top of it. With business out of the way she'd decided to roam a little bit this evening. Sometimes she felt cooped up and claustrophobic in her suite.

She slid down an angled roof to drop quietly to the street below. Two large men were currently considering mugging and raping a woman just heading for home. "I don't think so boys." she told them before they got to the woman. The woman turned startled eyes on this costumed lady. "It's rude to sneak up on unsuspecting women. Run along little lady. I'll take care of the big bad men." The woman hurried off. The two men started advancing on Callie and she noticed something large drop behind them. "I don't really need the help, thanks though."

The two men looked confused until one of them looked back and saw Batman rising from a crouched position. Now they were trapped between the two masked individuals, and they were thinking they'd made a horrible mistake. "I just thought I'd watch and get some pointers." Batman rasped.

"Oh, well, if that's all darling, I can certainly oblige. Although I do hate to have all of the fun."

"What did they do?"

"They were going to rape and mug that poor woman who just left the alley." she stated plainly.

"How the fuck..?" One of the men exclaimed.

"Well, I guess I don't need to wonder if you're telling the truth." he said clearly noting the admission by the man.

"Darling, I never lie. Well, let's get on with it. I thought I might still have a chance to get my nails done tonight." she said and then kicked into one of the men's chests. Batman swung at the other man dropping him easily. With one more hit Callie's man dropped to the ground. "You do good work." she told him.

Batman smirked, "Not bad yourself. I understand you saved Bruce Wayne."

"Yes." she mused. "I must admit, I was slightly surprised that you didn't show up to do it."

"Actually I was working on the disappearance of our missing Mr. James."

"Oh, yes, I'd heard he disappeared. I don't know where he is, but he's alive. I can still feel his hateful thoughts." she grimaced. "It's almost an unclean feeling when they're that bad. Not terribly comfortable I'm afraid."

"So am I to take it you'll be making Gotham your home?"

"My, you don't beat around the bush, do you?" she grinned wryly and approached him. She ran a gloved hand down his armored chest. "I like the armor, it does very masculine things to your physique." he stood completely still. Before she could help herself she leaned up and ran her lips lightly over his. It was like an electric current running between them. "Think it's the secrecy that causes that little tingle?" she whispered.

"I don't know." he whispered back. They both frowned and took a step away from each other simultaneously.

"Fear not Batman, I have no intentions of causing problems in your fair city. I'm here to help. When I'm no longer needed I'll fade away."

"I guess I'm just not a team player."

"Are any of us really?" she looked around. "I should go. It's a quiet night. There's crime, but nothing that I can pick up on immediately. Unfortunately, there's always crime,"

"Guess they haven't figured out crime doesn't pay."

"Probably because at this time it does." she smiled, "But I have a feeling between the two of us we can work towards wiping that belief from their minds."

"Why'd you come to Gotham?" he asked as she turned away.

She stopped and was silent and still. "Something in this city breeds pain and suffering. Thrives on it. Has done so for at least three years if not longer. That…evil… is what called me here. That's what I have to defeat before I can hope to have peace."

"You don't know where it's coming from?"

"No. I haven't been able to pin point it yet. It's chaotic, the thoughts of the monster. It leads so many. It murders and maims. It's what ultimately led to Norman Greco going after Bruce Wayne." she whispered. "When it laughs it's like a sharp pain reverberating in my mind. Such agony."

He noted the strange dreamlike quality of her voice.

"I can feel when it's going to act. It's henchmen carry the dead women away to make room for new. No remorse, no guilt, just a feeling of satisfaction, and underneath a pout that it broke its toys. Now it has to wait, and it doesn't like to wait. Such fury, Bruce Wayne not dead yet. It will make him pay for failing him. It trusted that he would get the job done and he didn't. Now it thinks it will have to take care of the problem itself. First though it must plan, yes, plan a good way for Mr. Wayne to die." she snapped back to herself abruptly.

"What the hell just happened?" Batman asked harshly.

She smiled only very faintly. "I tapped into it. This happens sometimes. I'm just glad you were here that way you heard. Otherwise I would have had to try to arrange the memories."

"You don't remember?"

"Oh, I remember, it's just that they aren't in order. My mind jumps around quite a bit. Probably because the human mind isn't supposed to be able to do it."

"You said they'd try to kill Bruce Wayne again."

She nodded. "Yes, I remember. I guess that means we'll have to make sure Mr. Wayne is protected doesn't it." 


	14. Invitation to Dine

Callie was working with Lotus-Killer in her Lab. It was fascinating really. It was such a powerful antidote, due to the powerful hallucinogen it combated. She was hoping that perhaps in a varying form it could be used to help people who suffered from delusions, schizophrenia, and other ailments. Normally Callie stuck with genetics, but in this case she was branching out. She saw great potential in this research. Even if it took years to truly find the answers hidden within, she was willing to devote that time. She thought back to her kiss with Batman the night before. It had certainly stirred up something inside of her. The same as when Bruce had kissed her hand. How odd was it that two totally unalike men could bring out the same feelings within her. The only thing those two had in common was their innate sexiness.

It had been a long day, and Callie began putting her samples away. She would head home, grab a bite to eat, and settle in for the evening. It was something she was looking forward to.

"So, I finally see the mad scientist at work." She turned to find Bruce leaning against the door jamb. He looked like an advertisement for a magazine.

She smiled radiantly at him. "Hello Bruce, how are you this evening?"

"I'm good. You look a bit tired." He said. She looked worn out and he found himself worried about her. Especially, since her recent hospital stay. He strolled forward casually with his hands in his pockets, and leaned his hip against her lab table.

"Hmm, that's the case too I'm afraid. It's been a long week, and a long day on top of that." She finished putting her equipment away, and turned to face him. "Was there something I could help you with?"

"Actually, I was coming to see if you'd like to join me for dinner at the manor? Alfred has been asking after you." He said loftily.

"I do like Alfred. I think dinner would be fabulous as long as you aren't expecting scintillating conversation."

"We'll take it easy on you tonight. I'll carry our conversation." He told her with a smile. "My driver can take us, and then he can see you home after, if that's all right with you?" She agreed and they left quickly after.

On the ride to the manor Callie rested her head against the seat, and sighed. Then she looked at Bruce. "How are you feeling? I'm sorry I didn't call before. I heard about Greco. It must have been horrible." She told him with a frown marring her lovely face.

"I'm fine, could have been worse. Thankfully there was someone there to help me." He said lightly.

"Batman?" she asked. "He's the one that found me when I passed out you know? I hope I'll get to thank him one day."

"I had heard that. You need to take care of yourself. However it wasn't Batman. It was a woman. She calls herself The Seer from what I understand. I guess she's been doing good around Gotham for a while now."

"A woman? How odd." She said still frowning. "I wonder where she came from."

"No one seems to know. I've only seen her once."

They pulled up the drive to the manor, and Bruce helped her out of the vehicle, and up the stone steps. He escorted her inside and Alfred greeted them at the door. "Good evening Ms. Hughes." He said smiling.

"Alfred, I thought I asked you to call me Callie?" she teased.

"Of course Ms. Callie." He grinned. "How are you feeling? You look a bit peaked."

"Oh Alfred." She sighed. "I'm tired, but other than that I'm doing well.

She and Bruce sat down to dinner of lobster bisque, which was one of her favorites, fresh green salad, and seafood with pasta and alfredo sauce. He kept his promise and as they ate, and partook of a glass of wine each, he talked to her of day to day simple things, his estate, and some of his childhood. Callie found it to be most relaxing, and enjoyable.   
She also found herself sharing some of her childhood memories with him. Here was someone she could tell about the loss of her parents and he understood. He didn't make false sympathetic noises. He just got it. After a light dessert of chocolate soufflé they made their way into his study.

Callie made her way over to a mock up of the city's transit system. Bruce was in the process of rebuilding it from the destruction the year before. "This is the model for the new system?" she asked as she approached it.

"Yes." He joined her looking at it. "It was important to my father, and it's important to me. I remember the last day we were together him telling me how important it was."

She smiled up at him. "I agree with him. I think it's a fabulous thing Bruce. It was terrible what it had become for so many years, especially for what it was supposed to mean to this city. I think that what you build will be a great value to Gotham. I didn't know your parents, but I'm sure they'd be proud of who you are." Callie laid her hand on Bruce's arm.

Bruce turned towards the beautiful woman and slowly lowered his lips to hers. He hesitated not knowing if this would be what she wanted. She lifted onto her toes to reach him and touched her lips to his. He pulled her close to him, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Callie buried one of her hands into his thick hair, and the other wound around his nape. For both of them it felt like the world was spinning. Everything that was tilted in their reality felt as if it had been set to rights. When they broke apart their eyes met, and a glimmer of recognition struck them both, but whatever little niggle was in the back of their minds refused to show them the truth. Thinking it their first kiss, and both hoped for many more, neither realized they'd kissed once before under different guises.


	15. From Heaven to Hell

They were staring at each other almost breathlessly. With a small groan they each moved forward and their lips met again. Bruce managed to move them towards the couch, and Callie went willingly. His hands roamed over her back. Her hands scratched lightly along his neck, and under his collar.

"We should stop." he muttered against her lips.

Callie nodded and kept nibbling. "You're so right, we should."

"Neither one of us has time for a relationship, and neither one of us wants a one night stand."

"I agree." she breathed and her hands moved to the front of his shirt and started working at the buttons. "Plus we work together." getting frustrated she ripped the shirt open in one smooth pull. Buttons flew everywhere and she made a satisfied sound low in her throat.

Bruce's hands found their way under her shirt and she shuddered with pleasure as his roughened palms moved across her soft, smooth skin. "I didn't even think of that. God, you think of everything." His voice had deepened. "We don't even know each other very well."

'Again, so right." she'd moved from nibbling his lips to nibbling the curve of where his neck hit his shoulders. Their hearts were pounding rapidly in rhythm with each other. Her hands, having freed him from the shirt, scratched along his muscular biceps and headed for his pants. He groaned as she unfastened the button, and pulled down the zipper.

Bruce put his hands on the back of her thighs and lifted her to the back of the couch. She was wearing a skirt, and he pushed that up as well. She pushed his pants down quickly, and looked up at him. He buried one of his hands in her silky hair, and met her mouth with his again. She met him with every bit of passion. "I don't have anything." he muttered.

"I'm on the pill." she whispered into his ear, and bit it gently. It was all he needed. He pulled off the tiny scrap of lace that passed for panties, and entered her. He was already fully erect, and she was hot and wet. He almost lost himself then, but took several deep breaths. It had been a while. He might play the part of playboy, but he hadn't slept with those women. Callie wrapped her long legs around his waist, and they found a rhythm for their thrusts. Within minutes they both reached climax. They stayed locked together for a few moments, each of them catching their breaths. Then Bruce turned them to where he fell back onto the couch with her lying on top of him. He pressed kisses against her temple.

"Hmmm." she murmured happily, and a little sleepily.

"Tired?" Bruce murmured against her hair. She smelled so very good.

"Hmmm, pleasantly exhausted." she said through her smile.

"Stay the night?"

Callie looked up and saw that he was sincere. Everything was shouting at her not to. Don't fall any deeper for this man. "Okay."

Bruce stood and scooped her into his arms. Then he carried her up to his room. They spent the entire night alternating between sleeping and making love. Each of them would wake up with the other wrapped around them and start the process all over again.

Callie woke up the next morning to someone pressing kisses along her bare shoulders. She was naked and sleeping on her belly in the middle of a huge, and very comfortable king size bed. She turned to see Bruce next to her. The sheets had slipped down and lay upon his waist, exposing his upper body.

"Good morning." she grinned. That was certainly a pleasant sight to wake up to.

"Did you know that you look as lovely in the morning, just woken up, as you do any other time I've seen you?"

She pushed up until she was on her elbows. "Oh really? Saying things like that will get you rewards you know?"

"Really?" he grinned, "And here I thought I was just being honest." He slipped an arm under her and pulled her to him.

Several hours later Bruce and Callie headed downstairs. His driver was preparing to take her home. He caught her before she could walk out the door. "Callie, I don't sleep around, despite my reputation. This wasn't a one night stand."

He seemed so concerned about what she thought. She thought that was adorable. "I don't think that would be possible Bruce. I don't sleep around either. And you could never be a one night stand to me." She leaned forward and kissed him.

"I'll see you soon." he promised. Then he watched as his car pulled away with her in it.

"Did you have a pleasant evening sir?" Bruce turned to find Alfred who was not hiding his smirk very well. "She's certainly a special young woman."

"Yes, she is that Alfred." Bruce said thoughtfully. "But I'm not sure that I can offer her what she deserves. I certainly can't offer her the truth."

"You should give it time sir. You don't really know what Ms. Callie is looking for either. Perhaps things will work out for the best in the end?" Alfred turned and left his young master to think. He thought that Ms. Callie was exactly what Master Bruce needed, and perhaps he was what she needed as well.

Later that evening Callie called Bruce from her cell phone on the way up to her suite. He seemed pleased to hear from her. "That was another long day." she told him as she rode the elevator. "What did you do today?"

"I had the pleasure of another dry, boring meeting, in which the board couldn't decide on another boring decision." he told her with a sigh.

She laughed lightly, "Poor baby. Well at least the day is over."

"And tomorrow it starts all over again."

"Ah Bruce, are you a pessimist?" she teased, but then her smile became a frown. "What the hell?"

"What's wrong?" he was instantly alert at her tone of voice.

"The door to my suite is ajar." she told him quietly. She pushed the door, and it opened wider. The room was in shambles. "Oh no."

"Callie, don't go in there." he told her urgently.

"Too late." she told him before feeling something press into her back.

Bruce could hear the man's voice over the line. "Yes, it is too late Calliope, extremely too late." Bruce hung up the phone and raced into action.

Callie froze. She turned slowly to face a wild eyed Lawrence James. "Lawrence what have you done?" she asked in horror. His clothes were ripped and torn, and covered in something dry and brown. His hair stuck up in chunks, and he hadn't shaved in days. He held a large kitchen knife in his hand.

"What have I done?" he sounded crazy, his voice was high pitched and his eyes darted around. "Why, I've killed you Calliope." 


	16. Fear and the Fragile Mind

Once again Billy led Nico through the corridor to the illuminated office. Once again he came face to face with the person who owned him. This time the couch was empty, but an extremely skinny hooker sat on the arm of the chair. All she wore was panties and a bra. A gloved hand ran up and down the woman's bare leg.

"I'm not pleased Nico. I must tell you up front that I am not pleased." the velvet voice whispered as soon as he entered.

Fear gripped Nico, it had ever since they'd found Greco's body. "I understand." he managed to croak out.

"I gave you a second chance, and I feel that you took that chance and what did you do with it Nico? Once again you come before me and I am dissatisfied. This isn't the best use of the opportunities that I've given to you."

"Yes, of course, you're right." he answered.

"Georgia, tell Mr. Kramer how we frown upon mistakes." the gloved hand patted the thigh again. Then the hand trailed up to her breasts. She giggled and leaned closer. "Or maybe we just show Nico how we feel about mistakes. Shall we tell him about Mr. James?" As quick as a snake striking out the gloved hand darted to the woman's throat and started squeezing. She tried clutching at the hand, and her eyes filled with terror. The hand just squeezed harder. Nico watched in horror as the life of the woman was snuffed out in front of him. The woman's body dropped to the floor, eyes still open and unfocused. "If Wayne isn't dead by the annual Wayne Foundation Ball this weekend our next discussion will not be as pleasant. Do you understand me fully Nico?"

"Yes." Nico couldn't tear his eyes from the woman.

"Billy, show Mr. Kramer out." Billy grabbed Nico by the collar and rushed him down the corridor and threw him into the alley. Nico hit the wall and the blow stunned him momentarily. He walked down the alley with plans swirling through his troubled mind.

"I'm still alive Lawrence." she spoke softly so as not to agitate him. His mind was chaotic. Something had snapped inside of his head and his thoughts weren't going in any type of chronological pattern. Every once in a while she would get a flash of him plunging the knife into someone's chest, but she couldn't tell if it had really happened, or if he was just delusional. At this point anything was possible.

"You're a ghost. A corporeal ghost. There's only way to get rid of a ghost. We have to exorcise it. A cleansing."

Callie backed away from the man cautiously. Why hadn't she been able to tell he was this close to the edge? Or had he been? Had something else happened to him to drive him to this point? "Lawrence, did someone hurt you? Did someone do something to you?"

He started laughing and it was a sick, high pitched laugh that caused her to shiver in fear. "Oh yes, I was bad, and I was punished, and now I'm gonna fix it." Lawrence started smacking his forehead with the hand not holding the knife. "You should have died Calliope, but no, you went to sleep. Why did you go to sleep Calliope? Why didn't you just die? Everything would be perfect now. But you came back and now I've failed. And failure is not accepted. Failure is never accepted." he stalked her around the room.

She kept the distance between them, but knew she couldn't keep it up forever. Callie wasn't sure what would happen if she used her mental abilities to strike at him. Making him see what she wanted him to see wouldn't work on his fractured mind, and the other pain would probably just make him more volatile. Whether she wanted to or not she knew she might end up having to try. "Lawrence," she began quietly, "Why don't you put the knife down and we can talk about it? Please?"

"Oh, now you beg!" he shouted. "You humiliate me, choose Wayne over me, and then you take my job, and now I'm supposed to let it all be okay, and talk to you! It doesn't work that way Calliope! You want to be Wayne's latest whore that's fine, but let's see if he touches you when I'm done. That is if you live through it!" With that said Lawrence leapt at her, and she screamed.

Callie ran hoping to make it her room. He grabbed her by the arm and her instincts took over. She flew into a kick aimed at his hand and the knife dropped to the ground. Lawrence swung out and slammed his fist into her face dropping her to the ground. He went scurrying for the knife and she kicked out again catching him in the ribs. A yelp escaped him and he snarled at her. Finding the blade he whipped out with it and sliced her arm open. The sting almost drove her to her knees, and blood dripped down her arm immediately.

Suddenly a huge black form crashed through her sliding glass doors from her balcony. Glass flew everywhere, and Callie covered her face. Batman stood and looked at the scene in front of him. Lawrence screamed again and kicked out catching Callie in the knee. She dropped to the glass covered floor and waited for the final blow, but it didn't come.

"I thought we had a talk about hurting women James." Batman's voice grated out. He moved as if lightning and grabbed the arm holding the knife. He twisted the arm, and the blade dropped to the ground. The snap of the arm was audible, and then Batman threw Lawrence across the room into the wall. The man crumpled to the floor unconscious. Batman moved to Callie who was on her hands and knees. Her arm was bleeding profusely, and her face and knee was swelling. He swung her into his arms and looked into the one eye not swollen shut. "We have to stop meeting like this." he quipped. Inside concern flared to life in Bruce's belly.

She coughed. "Yeah, at least this time I'm awake for it."

"Good point."

"I suppose you're gonna take me to a damn hospital." she winced.

"Best place for you."

"Yeah, that's what all the boys say." she joked half heartedly. "They should just rent me a room there."

"Does seem like you like to visit."

"Well, between my new patio door, and the lovely redecorating job that Lawrence did, I guess I'm gonna have to step up the whole house search." she muttered staring around her. She felt like crying, but didn't want to in front of this mysterious man.

He set her gently on the counter, the only place not covered in glass, and restrained Lawrence. Then he picked up Callie again and went to the patio. He looked at her and spoke. "Hope you don't mind the drop." So saying, he stepped off the patio and it felt like they free fell, but then they came to an end of a line he'd attached. He was surprised that she hadn't even flinched. The last thing she remembered was him putting her on a stretcher, and then she blacked out from the pain. 


	17. Confidant

"Callie could you bring me that slide dear?"

Callie looked from the microscope she was viewing to see her mother's smiling face. She was motioning towards the far table where samples were laid out in numerical order. "Sure Mom."

Suzanna Hughes thanked her daughter when she handed her the item. Callie looked and saw her father, Michael, listening to music and inspecting sheets that had printed from the analyzer. They were in Lab 3, or the Family Room as her parents called it due to the fact they spent so much time together in it.

"You seeing anything interesting over there Callie Sue?" her father asked her, a wide grin splitting his face.

"Still looking at Subject W." she frowned. "Not getting the results that we should be getting. All of his levels are off the charts but they should be decreasing when we look at the dosages he's taking." Callie compared what she read on the charts to what she saw on the slide.

"You sure of that Cal?" Michael walked over to look into the microscope. "This can't be right? What has Larry been doing?" he muttered under his breath.

Suzanna looked at her husband with worry. "Callie why don't you get the first three samples we took from Subject W. Then we can compare them. They're in cryo." Suzanna approached Michael. "If this is true Michael this would make him very dangerous. We need to talk to Larry."

Callie had just walked to the cryo unit when the lab door blew open and a large explosion shook the entire room where her parents had been. She was blown backwards knocking into the cryo unit, and dropping to the floor. Glass and chemicals burned along the walls and floors, and she couldn't draw in enough breath. The last thing she heard before going under was a man mumbling. "Shouldn't have pried."

She came awake suddenly gasping for breath. Stark, white walls greeted her vision, and she winced in pain as her sore muscles extended.

"Are you all right Ms. Callie?"

She looked over to find Alfred sitting beside her once again. "How do you always get stuck with hospital duty Alfred?"

"A pleasure I assure you." He smiled kindly. "You looked frightened when you awoke?"

"I was dreaming of the day of the explosion. The day that took my parents lives. I've had the dream a few times, but never this clear, and I've never remembered as much as I did this time. I heard him enter the room. It wasn't an accident. My parents were close to finding something in their research. Someone breaking the rules." Callie had almost forgotten Alfred was there as she pieced together her thoughts. Suddenly without warning one of her trancelike states was upon her. "It hates us. Calliope and Bruce. Bruce must die first, and then after all is taken care of Calliope will die as she was meant to that day. Should never have survived. Hate is spewing. Now we must get Lawrence James from his padded cell. Now we must rely on our man to kill Wayne. If he fails this time then he will be punished worse than James was. We so enjoyed James punishment. The breaking of a fragile mind. The breaking of a will. He had outlived his usefulness. So much more useful when doing as told. Ahh, Billy brings new play things. Play things to stroke and play with. Pretty little play things." Callie came to herself with a gasp. She was horror stricken to realize Alfred had heard everything.

"You're The Seer." He said quietly.

"Yes." She whispered. A tear fell down her cheek.

He leaned forward and patted her hand with his. "Don't worry Ms. Callie. I won't reveal your secrets."

"You mustn't. Bruce mustn't know either." She asked him looking into his kind eyes.

"Master Bruce will only know when you tell him, or if he finds out on his own. It shan't be through me." Alfred sighed realizing how difficult this would make things. He saw great promise between the two, but with this added to the other secrets he already possessed complications were raising to a much higher level.

Alfred knew he shouldn't be promising to not tell Bruce. In fact he should be telling Bruce. However, he wasn't sure if that was the best idea. If he was correct in the feelings that Bruce was developing for the girl, then knowing that she was out there risking her life, just as he was, would cause more worry and stress for the man. No, for now he would keep her confidence and keep a close eye on her.

Bruce walked in to find Alfred with his hand on top of Callie's and tears on Callie's cheeks. "Everything okay?" he asked gruffly.

"Fine." She gave him a watery smile. "I was just thanking Alfred for being here for me when I woke up."

"She'd had a bad dream." Alfred said and left it at that.

Bruce's eyes narrowed. Alfred was keeping something from him. "Bad dream huh? Not scared of that Batman are you?"

"Oh no. He was very kind considering. I had a dream about the day of the explosion at the labs. The one that killed my parents."

"That would be a bad dream." He murmured and sat on the edge of the bed. Of its own volition his hand began running on her fingers. "You know they're looking into that fire?"

"Yeah, I got a call from a Lt. Gordon a few days ago wanting to set up a time to talk to me. I'm almost glad I had the dream, because I remembered things that might help."

Bruce nodded. "Good."

"You shouldn't be taking time out of your busy schedule to be here." She admonished Bruce as she entwined her fingers with his. Callie was tired and sore, and for the first time in a long time she just needed contact. Needed to feel someone there.

"Nothing more important than being here right now." He told her softly.

"If you'll excuse me," Alfred began, "I believe I'll go make some phone calls."

"He's a good man." Callie told Bruce, not looking him in the eyes.

Bruce scooted closer to Callie remembering the terror he'd felt when he'd heard Lawrence James on the cell phone the night before. "Yes he is. You scared me."

"Sorry." Another tear slipped down her cheek. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm not a crybaby. I can normally handle everything."

He lifted her chin so she'd look him in the eyes. "No one can handle everything Callie. It's been a rough few days for you. Add to that this is a second hospital stay, and the man who held you at knifepoint to get you here. It's only natural to be a little emotional."

Callie moved closer to him and he pulled her into his arms. He was careful so as not to disturb the wound on her arm. "I hate hospitals." She whispered.

"Understandable."

"I want to go home."

"When you leave here you aren't going back to the hotel. You're going back to the manor." He told her. She almost laughed at the mulish tone his voice had taken. "We have dozens of rooms that you can use until you get your own place. I won't always be there but Alfred normally is." Bruce had thought long and hard before making this decision. As long as he was extremely careful he figured he could make it work. For the first few days she'd be recuperating anyway, but if there were people out there that wanted to hurt her then she was going to be where he could look after he.

Callie thought about it. He wasn't going to take no for an answer. She thought that if she was extremely cautious that she'd be able to sneak in and out to do her job as well as keep an eye on him. Especially seeing as someone still wanted him dead. He'd expect her to be recuperating for awhile anyway.

"Okay. But only for a few days." She smiled at him with gratitude.


	18. Power in Knowledge

Callie had been at Wayne Manor ever since her release from the hospital four days before. Bruce had been true to his word. She had as much privacy as she could ask for, and she didn't see him quite as much as she thought she would. It was Friday and the very next evening was the Wayne Foundation Ball. At least her bruising had healed well and the marks were only faint reminders now. They hadn't spoken of attending together and Callie wasn't planning on it. Just because they'd slept together, and just because they were under the same roof currently didn't mean that she would assume anything. Besides, deep down Callie still felt that a permanent relationship with the billionaire would cause issues. She had so much on her plate as it was. The fires, the threat to his life, her parents murders, not to mention the everyday running of Hughes Labs. Not that she wasn't up to each and all of these tasks, but they were definitely time consuming.

She hadn't been out as The Seer since her hospital stay. Her knee hadn't allowed for any type of acrobatics. Dancing across rooftops fell into that category. Tonight however she would be going out. Her visions had been unusually quiet for the past few days. Callie knew she needed more information if she was going to protect herself and Bruce. She figured that the Ball would be one of the best places for an assassination attempt. Bruce would obviously be there, and he'd be very visual. Somehow she was beginning to feel that the arsons and these attempts on their lives were interconnected. She couldn't figure out why, or how Bruce Wayne had been connected into it, but she would. This evening she was paying a visit to someone who knew more. However, she wouldn't be going as Calliope Hughes; she'd be going as her alter ego.

The night felt delicious and she realized as she moved that she'd missed this the past few nights. The thought almost made her laugh. When had The Seer become more than a means to an end? When had she become a true part of Calliope? She honestly didn't know, but it was certain that she had. She'd reached the industrial district quickly and she crept up quietly to the warehouse doors. The Seer knew her quarry was already inside, and the fear practically throbbed throughout the building. She heard conversation from inside.

"So, you, uh, you're sure th-that you c-c-can do the job?" Nico's voice stammered.

A silky voice responded. "Kramer you got nuttin to worry bout. Wayne's easy picking's."

"Just make sure it's done tomorrow night."

"I'll do it sometime before the Ball's over. Trust me. It'll be very public." The man's face flashed into Callie's mind and she shivered. The thin pock-marked face seemed to be permanently etched into a sneer. She recognized the man. He'd worked for that mob boss that had gone crazy around the same time Bruce's mansion had burned down. What was that man's name? She couldn't recall, but she did know that the man in her vision had been thought to be one of his enforcers. Small, but cunning.

As soon as the man was gone she slipped into the warehouse. Nico sat on a disheveled couch with his head in his hands. There was a slight tremble to his shoulders, and a burning cigarette still in the ashtray in front of him. He looked up as she came closer and a weary fear entered him.

"Go ahead, do your worst. I've heard of you." he told her. "It isn't like you can do more than he can."

"Why Mr. Kramer? Who are you expecting? Batman?"

Nico snorted. "Why would Batman come here?"

"Ahhh, I see." And she did. While the face wasn't clear, in that moment of perception she knew that Nico was talking of the Evil. The man he was working for. "Who are you working for Mr. Kramer?"

He leaned back on the couch. "I don't know. But he's powerful. I've seen what he can do, and I don't want it to happen to me."

"Have you seen what I can do Mr. Kramer." she asked with an edge. "Norman Greco underestimated me as well."

"YOU"RE the one who killed Greco?" he asked with some amazement. "Look lady, do your worst. Hell, at least if you kill me it means he can't."

"Oh no Mr. Kramer. I'm not going to kill you. I need information from you. A lot of information, and you're going to give me that information." Callie moved so silently and quickly it almost seemed as if she floated. At least that's how it appeared to Nico's eyes. His face started to show apprehension. "Now you fear me don't you? Did you really think I just wanted to taunt you?"

"What do you want?" he whispered.

"The fires, Kramer. I want to know about the fires. And I want to know how Bruce Wayne ties into the fires." She advanced on him and he squealed in fear.

By the time Callie reached her room in the Manor she was exhausted. It hadn't been difficult at all to get in and out without detection, but the power she'd had to exert on Kramer to get the information she required had been draining. Fortunately there was no bleeding at this point. She'd gotten as much information as she felt that she could. Callie knew it would take time for her to absorb that information. It left a bitter taste in her mouth. Everything she'd learned, the fires, Bruce, Lawrence James. So much to process. It had been difficult not to kill Kramer, but she'd held onto her self control and he lived. For now. She wasn't sure she'd be able to let that remain that way. Perhaps he was just the puppet, and not the puppet master, but he'd been responsible for her parent's death. Just a petty thug at the time trying to move up the ranks of a new crime regime Nico Kramer had set the explosion that had created The Seer. 


	19. Playing Both Sides

Callie moved wearily through the room readying herself for bed. It wasn't until she was returning from the bathroom that she noticed the small silver envelope on the floor in front of her suite door. Bemused, she reached down and picked it up. Her name was scrolled across the front and she recognized it to be Bruce's handwriting. A small smile played over her face as she headed to the bed. The envelope wasn't sealed and so she pulled the small sheet of note paper from inside. She unfolded it with only slight hesitation.

It had one phrase, and was only signed Bruce. 'Allow me to escort you to the Ball?'. He asked. Her heart fluttered and she knew that she'd say yes. She wondered when he'd slipped it under her door. Callie leaned back into her pillows dreamily. So, she would be going to the Ball with the Prince of the event himself. How fabulous. She snapped out of her reveries within minutes. Callie knew she should just enjoy it while she could. Very soon a time was coming when she would have to inform Bruce of the revelations by Nico Kramer. She knew she had to keep him safe at the Ball as well.

There had been tremendous fear within Nico's mind. He was terrified of failing. If Bruce didn't die tomorrow night then something bad would be happening to Nico. The same something that had happened to Lawrence. The thought almost made her shudder at the memory of his unholy eyes. His concrete belief that he'd already killed her. Something had snapped his mind in a million shattered pieces, and no matter how much anger she held toward Kramer she wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Callie stood and walked to the small writing table that took up a small portion of the large room. She had moved some of her personal stationary and writing utensils into the space just the day before. Quickly she wrote two words and then folded the small vanilla sheet of vellum. 'I accept' she'd written. She moved silently out of the room and down the hall. Making sure that no one spied her she moved to the door of Bruce's chambers. Callie was just about to slip the paper under the door when she heard voices coming from the room. Not able to help herself, she listened.

"Master Bruce I think you're making a mistake." Alfred spoke patiently.

"I know you do Alfred, but I don't." Bruce rasped.

"Miss Callie is an intelligent and understanding woman."

"Yes, she is, but there are some things no one understands." He sighed. "Look Alfred, I like Calliope, I like her a lot, but this isn't something that everyone understands or accepts. I'm not ready to tell her, and I'm not sure I ever will be."

"If you never give anyone your trust, then how will they learn to trust you?" Alfred spoke quietly. "There will come a day when she finds out on her own, and you'll wish you'd told her."

"Perhaps…"

"You could possibly lose her."

"Alfred, it's impossible to lose something you don't have." Bruce answered back quietly.

Callie quickly decided she'd heard enough. She slipped the note under the door and sped back to her rooms. As soon as she'd shut the door she leaned against it. Her heart was beating rapidly. She supposed she'd always known that Bruce was keeping things from her, but then it wasn't as if they were a couple. It wasn't as if he owed her anything. If anything, she owed him. The mystery of it did intrigue her however. What would the rich and powerful Bruce Wayne be keeping a secret? Some strange fetish? A bizarre tradition? Perhaps he'd killed someone in those years he'd been gone?

She moved from the door and slipped into her bed. Just one more thing to get to the bottom of.

-----

The next morning dawned gray and foggy. A light drizzle made its way down from the dark gray clouds and it was almost a guarantee that the drizzle would change to a downpour eventually.

Callie woke late and treated herself to a luxuriant bubble bath before doing anything else. Dressing in slacks and a light sweater she headed down to the kitchen.

"Good morning Miss Callie." Alfred said with a cheerful tone.

Callie smiled at the old butler warmly, "Good morning Alfred. How are you this morning?"

"Splendid Miss. And yourself?"

For a moment Callie thought of keeping the chat small and pleasant, but then she changed her mind at the last second. "I'm afraid it's going to be a busy night tonight."

"Master Bruce got your message last night." He looked pleased. "He's out currently. Would you like some breakfast?"

"That would be fabulous." She said and followed him into the kitchen.

"Another vision?" he asked quietly. "Did you go out last evening?"

Callie took a seat at the small island in the middle of the kitchen and sighed. "Yes, I went out, and no, no vision. Actually I went to visit Nico Kramer last night. I overheard him and a smaller man speaking. They were discussing killing Bruce this evening." When Alfred looked worried she rushed to calm him. "Don't worry Alfred; I won't let anything happen to Bruce. I wish I knew this man's name though. Perhaps you'd know." She said suddenly, surprised she hadn't thought of it before.

"Perhaps."

"He worked for the mob boss. The one that went crazy. The police could never tie him to anything." Callie tried to visualize the man. "Short, skinny, his face is almost weasely. He has a lot of scars on his face, like pockmarks. Thin mustache, and wears cheap, baggy suits."

"I believe you're referring to Andre Scarletti Miss Callie." Alfred said as he recognized the description. "He is indeed a nasty little man. Worked for Falcone for years. Always managed to escape prosecution. You say this is the man that is supposed to attempt to kill Master Bruce?"

"Indeed. I've got to figure out some way to warn Bruce." She sighed. "I'll keep a close eye on him this evening, but he should still know."

"Perhaps I can assist you with that Miss Callie." Alfred offered. At her inquiring look he continued. "Allow me to warn Master Bruce. He need never know the information came from you."

Callie observed the elderly gentleman quizzically. "You would do that? Protect me?"

"I would." He assured her.

She nodded once. "Agreed. Warn him. Then I will make sure he's protected this evening."

-----

Several hours later Bruce was preparing for the Ball when Alfred entered the room silently. Bruce smiled at the man. "Don't look so somber Alfred, it should be a good night."

"Sir. That Seer person was here today while you and Miss Callie were out."

Bruce whipped around to stare at him in silence.

"She said to warn you that you were in grave danger this evening. It seems Andre Scarletti is going to make an attempt on your life."

"Andre Scarletti? He was one of Falcone's top dogs. Who brought him into this? He disappeared shortly after the whole Raz Al Gul disaster."

"She felt you should know sir."

"And you're just telling me this now?"

"Well it isn't like you've had a lot of free time Master Bruce." Alfred took on an injured air.

"I'm sorry Alfred. It's good you told me. I'll be extra careful to protect myself and Calliope." Bruce seemed lost in his thoughts. "Now, she should be down any minute. Let's go wait for her in the study."


End file.
